What to look for while buying an office desk

Posted by
Sarah
on September 06, 2016

Turn the table on your old office desk

Your office desk is both the boundary of your personal space inside the office and your
workstation. While everything else
about the office
décor is designed to an overall theme and bought only because
it ticks all the right boxes for the company, your office desk should only tick
the box for you. It will slowly become the most important piece of furniture in
the entire office for you.

The office desk
is an employee’s personal address at work. It is your efforts behind the desk
that supplements your life outside the office. At work, the office desk is the only personal
place where we feel
secure. This is why it is imperative to find the right office
desk for you at work. If you’re still not sure on how pivotal it is to have the
right office desk for your overall well being, read on as we list down the few
proven health-related benefits of using an
ergonomic desk at work.

It helps curb the overall costs:

As
strange as it may sound but buying new ergonomic furniture will indeed save you
money during the long run.
Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) can cost
a fortune. Studies have revealed that nearly one-third of company’s compensation
expenses are incurred in WMSDs. Buying an ergonomic desk can help the company
recover a good fraction of that amount.

It bolsters productivity:

Injuries such
as backache, shoulder pain, etc. which have a direct impact on the productivity
of the
employee can also be thwarted by opting for an ergonomic desk. These
desks are designed to offer good postural support, optimum height, height
adjustments, and less exertion during the
daily tasks. You do not need a table
fit for the king for it to give you the motivation to work. But a full-sized
desk will go a long way in increasing your productivity.

Improved quality:

An improved
ergonomically designed desk will certainly improve the quality of the work of
employees. Lack of proper ergonomics in the current office setup will result in
tiredness and fatigue-related
injuries. You need ergonomically designed
furniture to perform at your optimum level during long working hours.

Creates a relaxed work environment:

If
you feel uneasy at your desk, you will not be able to work freely throughout
the day. Ergonomically designed
furniture will make you feel comfortable and
help you
relax. You can focus on the work at hand without worrying about the
uncomfortable furniture.

Avoid stress and injury:

Prolonged
sedentary activities such as long hours spent on the computer while repeatedly typing
and watching the screen can induce stress in you.Ergonomically designed
desk
can help you alleviate the stress levels and even reduce the chances of injury.
Yes, spending long hours slouched behind
a desk can also result in injuries like pinched nerves, wrist injuries, etc.

Improved employee engagement:

Ergonomically
designed desks can help you fight fatigue and discomfort making you more
social
and active
in a day. Having ergonomic furniture can serve as a morale booster,
reduce absenteeism, and decrease the employee turnover.

Give your desk an ergonomic makeover

Not everyone is
lucky enough to work in
companies that opt for ergonomic consultations. You may
have realized by now that your
office desk in uncomfortable and is causing
stress or discomfort in your body. Lucky for you, you do not have to wait for
your company to make the ergonomic updates. You can take small measures which
will do wonders in improving the ergonomic conditions of your office furniture.

Know your natural posture

What is your natural posture? While most of us have
been taught to sit upright, it doesn’t necessarily translate to being our
natural posture. For finding your
natural posture, step away from your desk and
sit down on a chair. Think of sitting on a car’s passenger seat. Your hands are
comfortably nested in your laps; the spine is straight, whereas your feet are
comfortably placed on the floor, and your shoulders relaxed and bent backwards
to the support of the seat. This is your natural posture. It is a posture you
will be the most comfortable working in for long hours.

Remember to change your posture occasionally

You should keep switching between different
postures so that you do not tire yourself and give adequate rest to your
body.
Sitting in the same posture for long hours can also have a harmful effect. You
can switch between the following three positions so that you can continue to
maintain the
best posture for your body. You should not feel any strain on your
spine while seating in these positions.

Recline your body: While
keeping your thighs horizontal on the chair, recline your torso backwards so
that it forms a 115 degrees to your thighs.

Place the frequently used items within your reach

Place all the frequently used items on the desk
within your sight and reach. You do not want to make sudden and frequent
movements to reach out to grab the frequently used items on your
desk. The correct
placement of items on your desk also matters. You do want to be angling your
head to one side for prolonged period of time. A handy tip for placement of
such items is to sit back on your chair and extend the arms so that the tip of
the middle finger should touch all the frequently required objects on the desk.

Keyboard and mouse placement

The keyboard and mouse placement on your desk
should be carefully done so that it allows you to be in your natural posture. They
should be placed in such a way that your elbows are at your side and your arms
are forming a
90-degree angle or less with the desk. This helps the muscles of your
elbows to be relaxed while typing or surfing. The mouse should be placed in
such a way that it is near the keyboard. Do not opt for a keyboard with numeric
digits as it offsets the centre of the keyboard. The ideal height of the
keyboard is one to two inches above your
thighs. It is where a pull-out
keyboard tray may come in very handy. If you are using a writing desk which
doesn’t have a keyboard tray, try lowering the height of the table. It is ideal
to use a
keyboard tray with a slightly negative tile so that your arms form a
downward slope in respect to your thighs. This will help you lower the chances
of injuring your wrists.

Placement of your screen

You do not want to place your monitor in close proximity
to your body so that it results in
eye-strain. You also do not want to place
your monitor so far away that you are craning your neck to read the display. An
ideal length to place your monitor is to try and use the middle finger stretch
technique. Your computer’s screen should be at the finger tip’s length of the
middle finger when your
arms are outstretched as you sit back on your chair. If
you use dual-monitor setup, place both the monitors without any gap in between
them. If you use both the screens of your PC equally, place them at the centre
of the table. If you use one monitor as a secondary monitor, ensure that you
offset its position away from the centre of the table.

Screen height

Your monitor should be placed in such
a way so that the centre of it is at the eye level or slightly below the eye
level. Lower the monitor if you have to tilt your head backwards to see the
screen. Ideally the monitor should be
15-20 degrees below the eye –level to
give you optimum viewing angle without straining your neck.

Hide the cables

It is time for you to put the storage cabinets and hidden compartments of your desk to good use. Collect the unwanted
cables, peripherals, and stow them away in these compartments so that they do
not
hinderyour work.

Learn about the different type of office desks

Choosing the
right type of desk can be quite
challenging if you do not know which desk will
suit your needs better. The market is flooded with different designs of desks.
To help you in your quest to find the perfect desk, we have listed down some of
the popular desks you can find online at DuringDays. To sweeten the deal, you
will get
free home delivery of the desk of your choice to most of the major
cities in Australia including Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Rockhampton, and
Melbourne.

Writing desks

Writing desks were
mainly conceived to help writers have a clutter-free space for writing and
storing their documents. It serves many other functions apart from
writing. It
can serve additional purposes like storage, decoration, etc. Its conservative
styling is designed to specifically provide you with a unique writing space
with a large uncluttered desktop. It will perfectly serve your needs if you
tend to work using
laptops. It is also lends its visual charm to amplify any
room’s ambience.

Writing desks
come in all shapes, styles, and sizes. Antique writing desks command a hefty
price owing to its unique charm whereas ready-to-assemble writing desks provide
a great utilitarian alternative to your need for a new desk. A good writing
desk can offer many
handy features to its users like letter organizers which
can make organizing the envelopes a breezy affair. It can come with cubby holes
which is a handy feature to have for organizing your office stationaries. The
drawers in the pedestals can offer you ample storage space to store your
valuables, documents, and anything that you want to be out of plain sight. The
keyboard tray is another handy feature to have in your
writing desk if you work
using a computer. Opt for a writing table with a stain-resistant surface so
that you do not have to worry about the regular coffee stains while working
long hours.

Choosing a
perfect writing desk is a personal choice. It depends on your preference of
style, features, appearance, and size. While only you will be able to pick your
ultimate favourite writing desk, we have listed down below the three common
types of writing desks that you may encounter during your search.

Secretary Desk: Secretary desks or drop-down desks as they are
often called are utilitarian writing desks. They do not require a lot of
floor
space. It resembles the appearance of a cabinet when closed. They can be easily
configured for writing purposes by pulling down the writing surface which
serves as the lid of the cabinet when not in use. It comes with different storage options so that you can easily stowaway the documents when the desk is
not in use. Since the writing surface of these desks is not a fixed structure,
you will need to empty the surface when you hinge it back again at the end of
the day.

Rolltop Writing Desk: The rolltop desk is a classical version of the
writing desk which has been around for three centuries. It is bigger in size
than the
secretary desk. The desktop can be easily covered with linked wooden
planks that roll down to cover the writing surface when not in use. Modern
rolltop desks come with slots for
housing computer. The rolltop can easily hide
away the computer when not in use. It is a great mix of vintage style and
modern design.

Standard writing desk: Standard writing desks are the quintessential choice
of desk for
writers and workingprofessionals. It offers an elegant design with
great functionality and large desktop surface. It comes with
drawers to give
you handy storage space.

Executive desk

Executive desks
are much bigger than the
standard desk. It is the default choice of desk for
decision makers and top executives in an organization because of its upscale
appearance. It offers a better build quality as it mostly made of
solid wood or
steel and comes factory-assembled because of its added weight. They are expensive additions for an office
because of the work involved in creating them. Most executive desks are made of
high-quality materials like oak, maple, mahogany, cherry, and walnut wood. They
come in different colours to match the office décor. They are quite appeasing
to the eye and their elegant design instantly adds a chic appeal to the entire
office.

Executive desks
come in various styles and configurations. Each type of executive desk serves a
unique purpose. Read on as we list down the different type of executive desks
that you will find in the
market.

Basic executive desk: They are large desks with ample working and storage space. It comes with a
flat desktop to offer you ample working space along with
drawers and cabinets to store your work documents and miscellaneous stuff.

L-shaped desk: L-shaped desks or corner desks come with an extended space which
gives them their L-shaped appearance. They are made of usually two pieces. The
second piece can be used as a secondary workspace with extra
storage. They come
in either left or right L-shape. Its unique design makes them easily fit in the
corners of a room or you can also place them besides the wall in the centre of
the room.

U-shaped desk: U-shaped desks are designed to make the most of the space available
in
big rooms. It offers the maximum amount of work and storage space to its
user because of its U-shaped design. The table is made of three different
pieces which are joined together to form a U-shape. You can also convert an
L-shaped table into a U-shaped table by adding a credenza to its design.

Wooden desks

Wood has long
been used to make desks. Wooden desks can be made using high-quality wood like
oak and mahogany that will make it worth the investment. It will easily blend
in with any décor. Desks made using high-quality wood are quite sturdy and it
will serve you flawlessly for years to come. Particle wood is a
cheaper and
lightweight
alternative to solid wood tables. It can be easily dismantled into
pieces and quickly assembled again. Be advised that a solid wood table will be
heavy and it will require more
labour cost as compared to table made using
particle wood. You can also refurbish your old wooden desks to increase its
lifespan.

Steel desks

Steel desks are
extremely durable and require minimum upkeep. It is made using
stainless steel
which is a popular choice of metal for furniture construction. They come in
many colour, design, and sizes. They are cheaper to procure than the
high-quality wooden desks. Its sleek appearance and modern design can
accentuate the
office décor. Steel desks offer secure storage space in its
pedestals. You can also opt for sleek steel frame desks which do not offer any
storage space. Its clean design will make it a nice addition for your office. While
the strength of steel will make the table sturdy, you will need to protect the
tables for dents and scratches as it is not so easy to repair the steel tables
without professional help.

Don’t miss out on adding storage space to your office
tables

Office desks are
multi-utility furniture items which do not only serve your table needs, but
they also double up to serve your storage requirements. In some offices,
storage space is a crucial determinant while picking a new table. It offers a
locked area for the employees to keep their important document. The added space
provides enough room for the
employee to store things neatly. There are three
ways in which you can add storage options to your office desks depending on the
work space available at your disposal.

Fixed pedestals: Many tables come with
single- and dual-pedestals which offer fixed storage beneath the table. This
storage space is immovable because it is attached to the
bottom of the table.
It comes with multiple
drawers of varying depths so that you can judiciously
use it to store your
files and documents.

Stand-alone storage: Stand-alone storage
units or credenzas are
horizontal storage units consisting of pull-out file
drawers. These drawers consist of pencil drawers and larger cabinets so that
you can use it store a wide assortment of files, boxes, and other equipment. It
is covered with two doors that can be pulled open sideways.

Mobile pedestal files: These storage
units offer the functionality of fixed
pedestals with the added feature of
mobility. These storage units are mounted on casters so that they can easily be
wheeled away from one place to another. It offers great flexibility to you to
move the storage unit from one part of the
office to another whenever you
require.

Shipping and Delivery

You have done
all the research in picking your next office table. Sadly, your work doesn’t
end with the purchase. You will still need to figure out how to get the desk
transported to your
office space. Luckily for you, if you are buying your desks
from online websites such as DuringDays, you will get free* shipping of your furniture right to your doorstep. You can also avail the easy returns offered
by such websites in case you do not like the furniture or find that you have
received a defective piece.